This scheme strikes at the foundation of everything: a phone number is treated as proof that you are you. Confirmation codes arrive on it, access to email and banking is recovered through it. When the number moves to a stranger, everything collapses at once.
How it happens
-
Collecting data about you
Name, date of birth, the last digits of the number, sometimes document details. All of it is gathered from breaches and social media — what is visible about you.
-
An approach to the operator
An application for a duplicate: “the phone was stolen”, “the SIM broke”. Some operators check strictly, some only formally.
-
Your SIM stops working
The signal vanishes without warning. That is the main sign, and it is usually ignored: people assume a network fault.
-
Recovery of your services
Confirmation codes arrive on the new number. Through them the email password is changed, and through email everything else.
What protects you
| Measure | What it gives |
|---|---|
| A block on reissuing without a personal visit | Most operators offer it, through the app or in a shop. The single most effective measure |
| A second factor by app rather than SMS | Codes are computed on the device and do not depend on the number — how to set it up |
| A separate number for banking | A number you publish nowhere is harder to connect to you |
| A spare email not tied to the number | Gives a recovery route that does not depend on mobile service |
| Backup codes on paper | They work when you have neither number nor phone |
- Second factor by SMS everywhere
- The number published in profiles
- Email recovery depends only on the number
- SIM reissue available by proxy
- Second factor by app
- The number is not visible in open profiles
- A spare address and backup codes exist
- Reissuing is blocked